Larbre Competition has taken the difficult decision to withdraw from the 2008 Le Mans Series due to an increasing workload in other championships.

The French team has been a strong supporter of the series since its inception, winning the GT1 drivers’ and teams’ championships in 2006, and fielded a single Saleen S7R, which finished second in class, in the opening round of the season at Barcelona this year.

However, after being asked to run Scuderia AC Argentina’s FIA GT Championship programme in 2008, alongside its existing FIA GT and FFSA GT commitments, the decision to leave the LMS has reluctantly been taken.

Team Principal Jack Leconte said: “It is with regret that we are leaving the Le Mans Series, of which we have been staunch supporters in recent times. However, our programmes in the FIA GT and FFSA GT Championships provide a number of date clashes, meaning it is no longer viable for us to continue.”

The team will once again be on the grid at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June as part of the ACO family.